Rolling toy



V. J. GRETHER Oct. 10, 1950 ROLLING TOY Filed July 7, 1949 INVENTORVALENTINE J. GRITHER ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE I ROLLING TOY Valentine J Grither, St. Louis, Mo.Application July 7,1949, Serial No. 103,401

' 4 Claims. ((146- 220) The invention relates to a toy which is'adap'tedt be rolled along the floor for the amusement of a child. The principalobject of the invention is to catch and hold the attention of averyyoung child by reason of the movement of certain portions of the toy asit progresses. Among other features, my toy has the advantage of beingvery light in weight and at the same time of sturdy construction, andalso it is of such simple design that it does not necessitateoperationby some other, person, but the child himself can roll it for his ownamusement. Another advantage is that the toy may be made of materialthat can be cleansed with soap and water, for instance, plastic or thelike.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my toy ready for operation.

Fig. 2 is a view taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1, showing particularly themeans for ingress and egress of the balls constituting a part of thestructure.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional View taken on line 3'3, Fig. 2.

The invention comprises a pair of hubs I, connected by a plurality offlat, elongated members, or slats, 2 spaced apart at regular intervals.Each of the hubs I has a circumferential projection 3 which extends aslight distance beyond the hub, so that when the toy progresses alongthe floor it rolls on the projections 3. the hubs I also has a centrallyapertured extension 4 which extends outwardly at each end of the toy andis provided with a groove 5, so that if desired a handle of anyconvenient type may be secured within the groove, but since the handleis not a part of the invention it is not shown in the drawing and willnot be described.

The hubs l have central, circular apertures 6 and 1, respectively,extending transversely therethrough, the wall of each of these aperturesbeing cut on a diagonal line so that the aperture is of greater diameterat one side of the hub than at the other side thereof. As will be seenin Fig. 2, the aperture 6 has its greater diameter at the inner side ofits hub, while the aperture 1 has its smaller diameter at the inner sideof its hub. Flat ribs 8, spaced apart from each other, are secured tothe walls of the apertures 6 and 1, respectively, so that they lie flatagainst said walls and extend from side to side of the hubs f.

Different colored balls 9 of compressible, washable material arepositioned within the toy where they are retained by the slots 2. Theballs are of such diameter that they will not slip out through thespaces between the slats, as will be Each of seen in Fig. 2, and theballs9 are also of such dimensions that when the toy is in rollingposition with the projections 3 on the floor, the balls will be clear ofthe floor.

The diameter of the balls 9 is approximately the same as the largerdiameter of each of the apertures 6 and I. Each ball 9 is introducedinto the toy by inserting it from the outside into the larger end of theaperture 1, and by virtue of the balls compressibility it may then bepushed inwardly through the smaller end of said aperture into the toywhere, as said before, it will beretained by the slats 2. Obviously, thedifierent colored balls are plainly visible through the spaces betweensaid slats, and as they are very loosely mounted within the toy theywill tumble about freely for the childs amusement when said toy rollsalong.

When the balls are to be removed for cleansing, or replacement, this isdone by pushing them out through the aperture 6, which the balls mayenter at its larger end, and again by virtue of their compressibilitysaid balls may be pushed out through the smaller end of said aperture.It is apparent from Fig. 2 of the drawing that the balls 9 will easilypass through the central aperture of the extension 4 on each of the hubsl. The spaces between the ribs 8 facilitate the foreing of thecompressible balls through the apertures 6 and l.

I claim:

1. A toy comprising a pair of circular end members, a plurality ofspaced apart, elongated elements connecting said end members, and aplurality of compressible balls positioned between said end members andenclosed by said elongated elements, each of said end members beingprovided with an aperture of gradually diminishing diameter, saidapertures being so positioned that the largest diameter of one and thesmallest diameter of the other are at the inner sides of the respectiveend members, said balls being of approximately the same diameter as thelargest diameter of said apertures, each of said end members having anoutwardly extending, circumferential projection to permit rolling ofsaid toy upon said projections.

2. A toy comprising a pair of circular end members, a plurality ofspaced apart, elongated elements connecting said end members, and aplurality of compressible balls positioned between said end members andenclosed by said elongated elements, each of said end members beingprovided with an aperture of gradually diminishing diameter, saidapertures being so positioned that bers, a plurality of spaced apart,elongated elements connecting said end members, and'a plurality ofcompressible balls positioned between said end members and enclosed bysaid elongated elements, each of said end members being pro-i vided withan aperture of gradually diminishing diameter, said apertures being sopositioned that said end members and enclosed by said elongatedelements, each of said end members being provided with an aperture ofgradually diminishing diameter, said apertures being so positioned thatthe largest diameter of one and the smallest diameter of the other areat the inner sides of the respective end members, said balls being ofapproximately the same diameter as the largest diameter of saidapertures and a plurality of ribs secured to' the walls of saidapertures, said ribs being equidistantly spaced around said apertures,each of said end members having an outwardly extending, circumferentialprojection to perm-it rolling of said toy upon said projections,

the largest diameter of one and the smallest di-"" ameter of the otherare at the inner sides of the respective end members, said ballsbeing'of approximately the same diameter as the largestdiameter of saidapertures, and a plurality of jribs secured to the walls of saidapertures, said ribs being equidistantly spaced around said apertures,each of said end members having an outwardly extending, circumferentialprojection to permit rolling of said toy upon said projections, and eachof said end members being provided with a lateral extension adapted toreceive a handle. 1

4. A toy comprising a pair of circular end members, a plurality ofspaced apart, elongated elements connecting said end members, and aplurality of compressible balls positioned between and each of said endmembers being provided with a lateral extension adapted to receive ahandle, the spaces between said elongated members being of such width asto permit portions of said balls to protrude therethrough, and thediameter of the projected portions of said end members beingsuch as topermit said protruding portions of said balls to clear the surface uponwhich said toy is being rolled.

VALENTINE J. GrRl'IFHElFtv REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 D. 155,688 Davis Oct. 25, 19491,275,567 Koch Aug. 13, 1918 2,352,676 Gainsley July 4,1944

